2008: A Look Back

Before I begin my look back at the year now ending,I want to wish everybody a happy,healthy,and prosperous New Year. God bless you.

Here are my picks for the biggest stories of 2008 in different categories:

Biggest news stories:

1.Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American President of the United States.
2. Republican Presidential nominee John McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Governor Palin is only the second woman to be the Vice Presidential nominee of a major political party, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro,who ran with Walter Mondale in 1984. Governor Palin has been mentioned as a possible Presidential candidate in 2012.
3. The financial disarray in the credit,financial, and housing markets.
4. Bailouts of Wall Street and the U.S. auto industry.
5.Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich faces possible impeachment and prosecution for allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama.
6.Pain at the gas pump though gas prices fell significantly by year's end .
7. The U.S. and the industrialized world enter recession.
8.Terrorist attacks in Mumbai,India.
9.Hurricane Ike affects Gulf coast.


Biggest sports stories:

1.Michael Phelps wins a record number of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
2.Jimmie Johnson wins his third consecutive Sprint Cup championship in NASCAR.
3.Tyler Hansbrough becomes the all-time leading men's basketball scorer at the University of North Carolina.
4.Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs Racing to start his own team,Stewart/Haas Racing. Stewart names Ryan Newman as his Sprint Cup teammate.
5.Phillip Fulmer is fired as head football coach at the University of Tennessee after the Volunteers have a losing football season. Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin is hired to replace Fulmer.

People to whom we said goodbye :

Some prominent obituaries of 2008

Charlton Heston,Cyd Charisse,Eartha Kitt, Van Johnson,Beverly Garland,Harvey Korman,
Jesse Helms,Paul Weyrich,Tim Russert,Paul Newman,Richard Widmark,Michael Crichton,Estelle Getty,Dody Goodman,Isaac Hayes,Jerry Reed,Dick Martin,Roy Schieder,Bo Diddley,Suzanne Pleshette .

Election 2008

I did not post a blog last week as I have had many things on my mind on a personal level as well as nationally. Even though I voted for John McCain,congratulations are in order to President-elect Barack Obama,who I will admit,ran a good,almost flawless campaign. Both Obama in his acceptance speech and McCain in his concession speech,spoke eloquently by reminding us that we are all Americans before we are Democrats,Republicans,or independents. I wish Mr. Obama well in his new administration and that he serves to unite the nation to the challenges that face us. In my home state of North Carolina,Republican Elizabeth Dole lost her Senate re-election bid to Democrat Kay Hagan. Mrs.Dole delivered a most eloquent and powerful concession speech by reflecting on her forty-plus years as a public servant and reaffirmed how proud she was being a native North Carolinian. She also wished Kay Hagan well in the Senate seat she will inherit from Mrs.Dole in January. Mrs.Dole's speech made me feel extremely proud to be a North Carolinian. With the election behind us,now we can move forward united and strong.

SPORTS

In college football,the North Carolina Tarheels(6-2 for the season) will play Georgia Tech at Chapel Hill,N.C.,on Saturday. Good luck to the Tarheels after taking last week off.

NFL

The Carolina Panthers (8-4 for the season) play the Raiders at Oakland,Calif.,on Sunday. Good luck to the Panthers.

NASCAR

The next to last race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season will be run on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Jimmie Johnson is the points leader with Carl Edwards his closest challenger at 106 points behind. Barring engine failure,a poor finish,a win by Edwards,or all of the above,Johnson will likely be one race short at Phoenix of locking up the championship. The season ends next week at Homestead Raceway near Miami.

This is all I have to post this week. Take care and God bless.